How I Made My First Million At 22 And Didn’t Even Know Until…

Let me tell you a funny story…

Well, it’s not comedy but it’s kinda funny when I think of it looking backwards.

I’ve always loved the great outdoors, adventure, physical activities and all that good stuff. . . so when it was time for my NYSC, I naturally wanted to travel somewhere deep inside a village.

I wanted somewhere out of civilization, where we would fetch water from the river, go to the farm, or sleep in tents . .
something crazy like that.

But all that changed in 15 minutes.

Just before I rounded off my Masters Degree Program in Unilag, a friend showed me a video that literally changed my life.

It was a marketing presentation for a global travel company that opened my eyes to direct sales and network marketing.

I jumped in hands and feet, literally… Body, soul and spirit.

I didn’t have the N57,000 to register as a customer and distrubutor so I borrowed it the next day from a friend.

I was so sure that I would crush this…

And I did. I made about N95,000 in my first 4 days and paid him back his money. I also won an ipad 3 as a fast action bonus for doing that.

You know when you find something and you just realize you are a perfect fit. I had never had that experience in business before this.

Within the next 12 months I would make 3 trips to South Africa and 1 trip to Italy attending conferences and vacationing.

I had never imagined that I could do such a thing entirely self-sponsored, with the money I had made in my business.

So here’s the funny part.

I started this business 3 months before going on NYSC.

So my prayers changed immediately. I began to pray to be deployed to Lagos. . lol

I wanted to be close to the economic center, close to the airport, close to the event centers, hotels where I held my meetings every weekend, close to my growing team.

What an irony.. lol

As God would have it, I was posted to Rivers State. Not to the city, to a village, deep in the bush, 2 hours away from ‘civilization’.

I almost died. At some point I literally felt my heart rate slow down because of the pace of life in that town. I felt every one was moving in slow motion. lol

I wouln’t do the redeployment thing where I would have to fake medical reports. So I opted for the craziest schedule of my life.

I travelled to Lagos almost every week, at least 2 to 3 times a month for the next twelve months to keep up with my business…To build my vision of freedom…

It was in these 12 months of NYSC that I travelled most in my life, both locally and internationally.

It was in these 12 months that I made over $10,000 without even knowing.

How I knew?

One day, I decided to check my back office and add up how much I had transferred to my bank account, and that’s how I found out.

Is there any lesson for you in this story?

Yes there are a couple of important points to observe.

1) Alignment:

Do something you love, and you would never have to ‘work’ a day in your life. I was live fish in water in this business. I would stay out late meeting prospects and get home at 12am, I would borrow money if I had to, I would risk the frequent night bus travels just to meet up with my goals and still fulfill my duties as a youth corper. I would do whatever it took.

My vision was clear. I wanted residual income, such that when I took a job as an architect one year later, I wouldn’t be solely dependent on my salary as income, and I wouldn’t be a slave to my job.

2) Money is not the goal:

If money is anything, it is a way to keep score, to measure your progress.
I’m going to make a boat load of money, I know that, and you are too if you stay close. But let’s get this clear. Money in itself is not the goal. It is the important resource we need to acquire in order to achieve the goal.

3) Putting in the work, regardless

To be successful, you are going to have to work lots of hours, whether you’re working smart or not, you’re going to have to work hard at it. Don’t entertain the mindset of finding the secret formula that rakes in the billions in 2 weeks. You will have to sacrifice your time, money, sweat and sometimes your ego to get what you want.

Sustainable success is one you work long hours for, applying yourself in becoming the person you need to be in order to attain that success.

When you’ve done all that you can, put in some more work.

4) Personal Development

I didn’t talk much about this in the article, but this is the secret behind the speed of my achievements. The back story of all this is that I had commited many years before as a teenager to a life of learning.

What I didn’t say also in the article is that I was reading about 2 books every month on average at that time. Right from business books, to technical (practical, how-to) books, spiritual books, leadership books, communication books and so on.

All my time in commute was converted to Personal Development either reading an e-book or listening to an audio program or podcast. I loved road-time, because it was my growth time.

5) Momentum

Invest as much as you need to in choosing what direction you want to go, what business you want to start. But once you do, you must take massive action in executing on your action plan.

PS:
If you want me to work with you on clarifying your vision, establishing the right goals, establishing an action plan and staying consistent with your execution, send an email to posi@adeposiokupe.com and let me know.

I only have 9 slots left in the Business Builder Coaching Program. If you want in, now is the time to act.